According to data submitted by the National Police Agency to the Seoul Economic Daily on the 7th, through the office of Rep. Park Soo-min of the People Power Party, among the 1,529 cases of illegal virtual asset activities detected in the first half of this year, money laundering accounted for 1,214 cases, making up 79.4% of the total. Compared to last year, when only 8 cases of money laundering were detected, this represents an increase of nearly 152 times in just half a year. The landscape of virtual asset crimes has also changed significantly. Until last year, investment fraud accounted for 92% of all illegal activities, but in the first half of this year, money laundering rose to become the most common type of crime, accounting for 79%. This is interpreted as the result of increased use of virtual assets in the process of siphoning off criminal proceeds from drug trafficking, gambling, voice phishing, and investment chat room scams overseas, leading to the emergence of organizations specializing solely in money laundering.
